Auf Wiedersehen, Switzerland

Tonight is my last night in Fribourg and I am absolutely not ready to go. I have fallen in love with everything about this country. Switzerland is a linguist's dream. It's a place where being perfectly trilingual is as common as having two arms and two legs and switching from one language to another is as normal as having cheese with your wine. In Switzerland, the people are peaceful, the food is heavenly, and the trains are always on time. It's the only country I know that can claim natural postcard beauty in every inch of its geography. I've discovered a lot during my stay here, about Swiss culture, languages, history, people, politics, music, geography and food. I've discovered savory chocolate, handy knives, convenient trains, breathtaking landscapes, funny expressions, plentiful supermarkets, friendly people, expensive watches, and tasty cheese. But most importantly, I've discovered that the people you meet and the friends you make are what make the memories grand. I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to live abroad, take classes without studying, and travel on somebody else's dollar. So here's to Switzerland. Auf wiedersehen. Goodbye. Arriverderci. A revair. Au revoir, et à bientôt.

 

Le Cervin

Alors, jeudi je suis allée à Lausanne pour la deuxième fois, juste pour aller au musée de la photographie. C'était vaut la peine! Mais, ce jour-là était un jour férié, donc la librarie qui vend tout livres en anglais était fermée. Alors j'ai pris le train à Martigny et je suis allée au musée des St. Bernards. Oui, le chien. Ils avaient les chiens, au moins 6, et trois petits chiots. Comme ils étaient mignons! Il y avait aussi un musée d'histoire de ces chiens qui sauvent les gens attrapés par les avalanches. Après Martigny j'ai fait la dernière étape du voyage du jour: Zermatt.

Vendredi j'ai pris un train spécial pour monter une montagne qui s'appelle Gornergrat. Le voyage a pris 30 minutes et là-haut, 10,000 ft au-dessus, la vue était magnifique!! Tout autour de moi il y avait des grandes montagnes enneigées, y compris le Cervin, le plus célèbre de tous. En plus, il y avait deux chiens St. Bernard en haut, en se reposant avec le Cervin en arrière-plan. Après avoir déscendu, j'ai passé le reste de la journée en marchant partout le petit village de Zermatt. C'était comme si je m'étais déplacée au 17ième ciècle. Il y avait une rue avec tout ces petites maisons comme au 17ième ciècle et les petits textes qui ont expliqué pour quel type de travaille chaque maison aurait été utilisée. J'ai fini ma journée en regardant le couche-soleil sur le Cervin.

Samedi j'ai pris le Glacier Express jusqu'à St. Moritz. Le voyage a pris 9 heures au lieu de 4 ou 5 parce qu'il a révélé une beauté de la nature qu'on ne peut pas voir qu'avec ce train. C'était tellement génial! Quand je suis arrivée à St. Moritz je pouvais marcher autour du lac pour arriver à l'auberge. Aujourd'hui j'ai vu le stade Olympique et un peu de St. Moritz, un petit village qui a son propre tour penché! Mais parce que c'était dimanche, tout était fermé. Donc je suis retournée à Fribourg un peu tôt.

And so, in the words of the 5-year-old sitting behind me on an 11am train, "Good-bye St. Moritz. Good night. Sleep tight!"

Bâle

Aujourd'hui je suis allée à Bâle pour ma deuxième tentative. C'était plus d'un succès que la dernière fois! Quand je suis arrivée là-bas, j'ai marché partout, juste pour voir la beauté de la ville. Et comme elle est belle! Je suis allée à la cathédral et je suis monté la tour. J'étais toute seule en haut et je pense que la vue était plus magnifique à cause de cela. Après, j'ai décidé d'aller au lieu où les trois pays d'Allemagne, la France, et la Suisse se rencontrent, bien qu'il soit un peu loin de la ville. Donc j'ai suivi la rivière pendant au moins 45 minutes et je n'ai vu rien (il se rencontrent au milieu de la rivière). Après que le chemin est devenu un peu effrayant, avec le graffiti et les vieux trains touts abondonnés, j'ai décidé de retourner à Bâle. Je suis arrivée à l'heure du commencement des joueurs féminins du beach volley! Donc je l'ai regardé pendant 2 heures et puis je suis retournée à Fribourg. Chouette.

Ticino

I just got back from Ticino, the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, on an ISEP trip. I got there only knowing Claudia, a friend from class, and came home with at least 5 new friends. It was such a great, diverse group of people! Claudia and Carolina from Mexica/San Diego, Natalia Vladimir from Russia, Rolf from Switzerland, Laurel from Iowa, and Sophie from Colorado/UVM (!!!) and I basically spent the whole weekend laughing. Anyway, we took the train into Lugano on Friday (passing THE most majestic mountains and waterfalls on the way) and got there just in time to have a hearty Italian dinner of pizza and pasta.

The next day we lucked out with gorgeous weather in spite of a rainy forecast. We took a funicular to the top of Monte Bre' for THE most unreal view of Lugano and the surrounding lake. Since it had rained in the early morning, there were clouds and fog just kind of hovering over the tops of the mountains in a very Peter Pan-like way. Then, we had lunch (pasta alla carbonara!!) and took a lake steamer to Melide and went to a place called Miniature Switzerland. It was the coolest thing ever; you walk around this huge outdoor park where all the highlights of different towns, cities and villages throughout Switzerland are built in incredible detail in miniature, including trains, cars, and boats that really run. It was super chouette! It was here, in the gift shop, where I purchased my very first Swiss Folk Music CD!!! (Get ready for some yodeling, Cindy!) After a relaxing and scenic boat ride back to Lugano, we went out to dinner (all paid for!) and then went out for a beer together afterward.

Today we had to take a 1pm train home, so we just strolled the streets until then, passing a Lexus car show and sitting in the 100,000 CHF cars, pretending to drive them. On the train, Rolf taught us to play a Swiss card game. It reminded me a lot of Setback, and the cards are like a cross between American and Italian cards. In conclusion: hilariously wonderful weekend.

Strasbourg

Strasbourg is GORGEOUS!! I spent the day there Thursday and felt like I'd fallen into a real-life version Beauty and the Beast. The city is absolutely stunning-- colorful houses with wood beaming reflecting in the river, people waking up to say "Bonjour!". Haha, had to. Anyway, I took a audio-guided walking tour of the city, which was the coolest thing ever. Then, I visited the Cathedral Notre Dame de Strasbourg and climbed to the top. (After a penne arrabiata lunch, not such a great idea.) But the view was BEAUTIFUL. I don't even have to edit my pictures. Then, I went to a museum about the history of Alsace. It was in one of the oldest houses in Strasbourg and I learned a lot about the city's interesting bi-cultural, bi-national, and bilingual history. Overall, GREAT place. Highly recommend it.

Yesterday, Daniela and Lauren made me dinner and cupcakes with champagne (they even bought champagne glasses) for my birthday! After, we all went out to this awesome pub for celebratory beer. As soon as you open the door you go down stairs, into the basement. It looks like a cave with all the stone and it's small with lots of alcoves with tables in them. Super chouette!

Saturday I went to Geneva again, I just loved it so much! I went to the top of the St. Pierre Cathedral and was taken away by the 360-degree view of the city, the lake, and the mountains. Then, I went to the Patek Philippe Museum. It took me a while to find, but I got to peruse a flea market on my way. The museum was very cool; some of the watches they made were amazingly ornate and gorgeous! This one watch had the numbers 1-12 on the bottom half with moons and stars and then 1-12 again on the top half with the sun. A 24-hour clock! Very cool. I would never get confused with that sucker.

Gruyères

Today I went to Gruyères, a tiny medieval village on a hill known for it's cheese. You may have heard of it? It's called Le Gruyère and it's a little slice of heaven. I took the train into Palézieux and from there there's this tiny, two-car train that takes you to Gruyères, stopping at multiple one-rail stations on the way. The hour ride was breathtaking; it was a beautiful day out and everyone had their windows down and their cameras out to catch shots of lazy cows grazing in the rolling yellow and green hills.

When I arrived in Gruyères I went first to the cheese factory just behind the train station. It was a really neat museum (with complementary audio guide and fresh cheese) surrounding the production room; I learned a lot about cows, milk and cheese! Unfortunately, again, not much to see in terms of actual cheese-making, but still super cool. After, I started heading up the cow-lined path to the top of hill where the town of Gruyères rests. It's THE cutest, smallest, walled-in, hilltop medieval town I've EVER seen!! There's basically just one big car-free piazza lined with shops and restaurants, bustling with people, and heavy with the delicious scent of Gruyères cheese. Ohhhhhhhh, just thinking about it.

Anyway, I strolled the piazza, popping in and out of expensive tourist shops, walked along the medieval wall, and finally up to the chateau. The castle, now a museum, sits at the highest point on the hill and therefore yields the most fantastic view. After the museum I walked back down to the center where there were a group of teenagers dressed in traditional costume singing. (Even the waitresses were in traditional dress). I thought they were cool until I saw further away, ALPINE HORNS!! That's right, a group of men (in traditional dress) playing Alpine horns with another man throwing baton-twirling the Swiss flag!! I've been wanting to see this for soooo long...OH it gets better. After they finish I hear bells behind me. I turn around and there's this man ringing different bells to play 'Edelweiss'. Gorgeous. Afterward, he puts the bells aside and picks up and accordion (and you know how I feel about the accordion)! He starts playing, beautifully, and the woman next to him stands up and begins to YODEL!!!!! ALL MY DREAMS HAVE COME TRUE!! Oh, how I LOVE yodeling. It was AMAZING!!!!!! (Check out the link in the upper right hand corner.)

All in all, of the 15 or so villages, towns, and cities I've been to so far in Switzerland, Gruyères DEFINITELY tops the list. Without a doubt.